Chapter Text
“I want to eat some sushi…”
Shima raised an eyebrow at those words. She kept her gaze on Eliza for a while before sighing.
“Why didn’t you say anything about this before we came here?” She asked.
“Wellllll…” Eliza looked a little embarrassed as she started to sip some water out of her cup. “I never got the chance… and it’s not like Hiroi could afford to eat something like that…”
“There’s always the conveyor belt sushi joints.” Shima pointed out as she finished her cup of ramen.
“Didn’t we get some instant ramen because we couldn’t really afford to eat out tonight?” Eliza asked once more as she stared glumly at her portion.
“No, we got instant ramen because that was the only thing Hiroi and you could afford today.” Shima pointed out as she gestured to Hiroi, who was teetering between drinking her ramen broth and sighing sorrowfully. “Besides, knowing Hiroi, we’d probably be at Hitori’s cart right now instead of sushi.”
“Hey, you make that sound like it’s a bad thing.” Hiroi said miserably, before pushing the instant ramen away. “Though, I could really go for some of those chicken skewers… or that Drunken Pork Noodles… those two together is always a good combo…”
Shima couldn’t help but gulp at the thought.
Eliza wasn’t much better off, seeing as how there was a thin line of drool coming down her mouth as she seemed to be thinking of the same food.
“I still can’t stop thinking about the Hawaiian skewer either…” Eliza moaned. “Though, I still think those drinks are really good… That Sakura Uprising one still never stops making me happy and refreshed…”
Shima could agree. After all, she couldn’t stop thinking of the Drunken Pork Noodles and the Dark Moonlight drink. That pork broth was so good, the way the salt and the meat flavor all came together as a perfect combo… then paired with the Dark Moonlight drink?
That was truly heaven.
All three of them stared at their lukewarm ramen noodles before sighing as they shoved the rest of the food inside their stomachs. The taste, which had been okay at the beginning, now was completely awful. After remembering the amazing flavors Hitori was able to create, all of these tasted like complete junk.
The soup was too salty with almost no meat flavor. The texture of the noodles were completely off, akin to being soggy yet crunchy all at the same time.
Shima couldn’t stomach anymore. She shoved the ramen away from her, as did Eliza and Hiroi. The three of them stared at each other miserably, before groaning.
“Can we please go to Hitori’s tomorrow, Shima?” Eliza whined. “I promise I’ll pay you back… please…”
“Please…” Hiroi begged as her eyes went wide. “Please, Shima-sama…”
“That’s…” Shima opened her mouth to agree, before shutting it once more. No, she couldn’t do that! She had a budget to stick to and their next concert was in a week. That was the only time they were going to get paid, so she couldn’t go and splurge at Hitori’s cart.
Even if every single fiber of her being begged her to do so…
“We… can’t.” Shima groaned as she stared at the table. “There’s no way we can afford it either way…”
Just like that, the other two women slumped over. All hope and life was taken out in a single instant, their dreams dashed and their hopes taken out of nowhere.
For a while, at least. Then Hiroi jolted up with a sudden burst, before looking at Shima with a mischievous grin.
Something that Shima had a bad feeling about.
“Oh? But what if…” She paused, before giving out a Chesire grin. “What if I could convince Hitori to give us a discount? Heck, maybe… convince her to serve us sushi?”
“Eh?!” Eliza jumped up instantly. “Really?! You can do that, Hiroi?”
“Yeah! I mean, maybe? I’ll have to give it a shot after all!”
Shima narrowed her eyes at that statement. Considering what she knew about Hitori, she wouldn’t doubt Hiroi’s capability of getting sushi served. But a discount? That was a different thing altogether.
But if she was able to get a discount, they could enjoy Hitori’s cooked foods… Granted, she might have to eat nothing but cup ramen and bread for the next two weeks, but still!
She wanted to know what kind of delicious things Hitori could do with sushi. She wanted to know if she could do something amazing with that… and if that didn’t work out, there were still those noodles and skewers and drinks…
Her will wasn’t strong enough to last anymore.
Hence why all three women were now crowding around Hiroi’s phone that was busy ringing up the cook. The ringing went on for a few seconds, until the line picked up.
“A-ah… onee-san?” Hitori croaked out. “Y-you want to talk to me?”
“Yeah!” Hiroi grinned as she looked at the screen. “I was just wondering if you were going to make anything new for next time, you know?”
“Something… new?” Hitori asked.
“Yeah! You made noodles, skewers, and drinks… got any other food items in store for everyone?”
“U-uhm…” Shima could hear something shuffling from Hitori’s side, before she spoke up once more. “I… not yet. I’m still trying to decide between a few things.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Uh, well I only came up with tea and a soda…” Hitori continued. “For the food? Um… I was trying to figure that out… Something that could go well with the skewers and noodles and that’s easy enough to do on my cart…”
“Hrmmm.” Hiroi seemed to muse on that, before shrugging. “What about sushi?”
“... Eh? Sushi?”
“Yeah! Sushi!” Hiroi grinned. “You could serve some to us fresh! Heck, maybe even some sashimi or carpaccio as well!”
A beat. Then, they could hear Hitori vibrating and breathing before a response.
“N-nonono! I can’t do sushi, not at all! I don’t have a sushi chef license to even be allowed to do such a thing which means if I get caught I’ll get sent to sushi prison or whatever they have for offenders! I can’t do that, I can’t! No way, no way, no way!”
Well. That was a reaction Shima wasn’t exactly expecting, but not one she was surprised by either.
“Awwwww, come on Hitori!” Hiroi whined. “That license isn’t mandatory! There’s plenty of sushi chefs that don’t have their official license. Why, take a look at some of the revolving sushi bars! The chefs don’t have a license, you know?”
“B-but-but–”
“Just give it a shot, okay? If anything, if you don’t feel comfortable, then at least give Sick Hack a trial run, alright?” Hiroi comforted. “You know we won’t be mad at you or anything. We can also keep this all quiet so no one will know you did this for us.”
“Hey, Hiroi…” Eliza finally spoke up, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to try to force Hitori to do something she doesn’t want to do…”
“Yeah. This…” Shima shook her head, before turning to the phone. “Hitori, it’s fine. If you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
There wasn’t a response from the phone for a while.
Then, Hitori finally responded.
“... I… I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all we can ask for.” Eliza smiled. “Thank you, Hitori.”
“A-ah… y-you’re welcome… ha-have a good night, everyone…”
She ended the call, resulting in Eliza and Shima turning their attention to Hiroi. She had the decency to look a bit shameful as she took the phone off the table, before sighing.
“Ah, I might have been a bit too forceful there, huh?”
“Yeah, you were.” Shima pointed out, before shaking her head. “I know you want to eat her food too, but there was no reason to go that far. You know better than that, so why did you?”
Hiroi just looked slightly embarrassed, before wincing. “I.. guess I wanted to see how far she could go. Just try to do something to push her to keep on improving and succeeding. Though, I shouldn’t have been so pushy. I’ll have to apologize the next time I see her…”
“That would be best.” Shima nodded.
The three of them sat there for a little while, until Eliza spoke up.
“Do you think Hitori will make the sushi still?”
They all paused at the question. Hiroi looked at Eliza before cracking a smile.
“Even if she doesn’t, I’m still looking forward to her next meal. Wonder what she’s planning to do.”
“I’m not worried.” Shima smiled. “After all, she’ll come up with something to make us all mad for her cooking again.
“There’s no reason to be anxious.”
Hitori was absolutely anxious. She had reached her absolute limit. Her nerves were acting up so bad that she could feel her entire body shaking and trembling even as she stood still.
She couldn’t move a muscle. Not when she was in this busy street with a bunch of people and so many voices that were yelling at her and everyone else.
“Get beef here! Fresh beef, straight from the farm!”
“Curry buns for sale! We’re giving away one if you buy two!”
She shuddered, before forcing her body to move. She darted into the nearest dark alleyway, before finding a place to sit and breathe. She felt like melting, but she…
Ugh.
She sighed as she looked up at the sky.
How come she had to go out like this? Why did she agree to go make some sushi for Sick Hack? Why couldn’t her parents just go and buy the fish she needed?
She groaned as she covered her face. She already knew the answers to those questions, she just didn’t want to have to deal with all of this. She was regretting every single decision she made to come here in the first place.
At least she didn’t go to the fish market. She thought of the idea, going to that overcrowded spot filled with that many people shouting and screaming in the limited confines…
A shudder. A single gulp as she thought about the concept, before looking back at the overly bright streets.
Maybe she should just go back home. She did have some stuff she could make that could replace the sushi. Something with squid or even eel could do.
Yeah, she could just do that.
She took a deep breath and stood up. She stared at the overly bright streets, before taking several steps forward. She came out back into the marketplace and–
“Excuse me miss?!”
“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeee?!” Hitori jumped as she turned to the woman in the business suit, who was all smiles.
“Can I talk to you for a brief moment? I’m doing surveys regarding the marketplace and I would love to get your opinion and— where are you going?! Wait, pleaseeeeee!”
Hitori kept running away. Nope nope nope nope , she couldn’t deal with something like this now! An extroverted person approaching her for something crazy? No way! She couldn’t deal with this!
That was when she tripped.
She fell down to the ground, wincing as she started to pick herself up. Thankfully, she didn’t have any injuries, but the impact still hurt. She managed to stand up before groaning and finding herself looking right at a large tuna.
She looked around the area, only to realize that she was now in front of a fish shop in the marketplace. That was… convenient, to say the least.
She started to look at all the options available. There was salmon, tuna, shrimp… heck, there were even some live fish and shellfish in some of the tanks available. There were a lot of different options that she didn’t even expect to see in this fish store.
She was getting numerous ideas for the sushi. Heck, even sashimi was possible… though, she did need to make sure that the fish was graded well enough for that first.
She looked around for the shopkeeper, but found no luck. Well, there was nothing to it then, no need to interact with anyone, time to go home and–
“Heya kiddo! You interested in the fish?”
“E-eh?!” Hitori jumped a few feet in the air, before shaking her head. “Uh-uhm, yes, I… I’m…”
She had turned to look at the person who just spoke to her, but… she kept looking up. And up.
The woman was tall. Huge. She was taller than anyone she had ever met in her life. In fact, she was towering over her right now as she simply gave a huge grin full of sharp teeth.
Something that made Hitori’s legs start feeling absolutely weak.
“Eh? What’s up, young lady? Come on, let this old timer help you out.”
“A-a-ah I’m so sorry for this, I need to go and–”
“Hey hold up there now!” The towering lady put a hand on Hitori’s shoulder, causing her to squeal. “You were looking pretty intently at all the fish, you know? I could tell that you have something you wanted to get here, no?”
“A-ah, well I um…”
“Come on, no need to be such a shy violet!” With that the woman went ahead and maneuvered around so that she’d be right behind the counter. “If this is your first time getting some fish, then I can easily guide you along the ropes!”
Hitori froze. She didn’t know what to say. What could she do? What action could she take to get out of this situation? Sh-she had to say something, anything!
“Uh-uhm, do you have any sushi-grade fish for sale?”
Not that! Why’d she have to ask that of all things?!
“Hrm. Sushi-grade fish, you say?” The woman seemed to muse for a while, before giving the shark grin once more. “Sure! I got some tuna this morning! I’ve also got some mackerel, amberjack, eels, and even some fresh fish right in the tank you could get all set up for the sushi or sashimi.”
That was a lot of options, something that Hitori couldn’t get her mind around at all. What should she get? Mackerel? Tuna? Once more, she truly wished her parents could’ve gotten the ingredients like usual.
“Uh-uhm… Uh…”
“Hmmm.” The woman seemed to look at Hitori for a while. “Do you need any recommendations?”
“U-um, that…” Hitori looked dismayed. She didn't know what to say. I-if she asked for the recommendation, then what if she didn't like one of the options? Wou-would that mean the shopkeeper would break her back in one single move?!
She could see it now… She'd be–
"Here."
Hitori blinked, before looking at some of the filets being placed right in front of her. Some from the belly, some from the sides, all of them from different fish.
"U-uh. what is this?"
"That's some of the samples I have for the sushi grade fish." The shopkeeper smiled at Hitori. "I figured it'd be better if you had something to inspect for a better choice. Am I wrong?"
Hitori blinked. Eh? Did she just get her mind read like that?
"You sure did!"
An esper?!
"Nah. Nothing as crazy as that!" The shopkeeper laughed as Hitori started shrinking and melting. "I have a keen eye for people, you know? Helps that I did babysitting earlier on so I know how to help people out for purchases."
"O-oh. Tha-thank you so much…" Hitori bowed, or at least tried to. The shopkeeper shook her head and returned a soft smile.
"Hey now, no need to be like that. I'm supposed to service you, after all. So, take your time. I'll go ahead and let you decide, okay?"
Hitori nodded. Then she looked at the different fish samples in front of her. She looked at all the details, from the marbling to the age. She checked to make sure they were fresh and good for her intentions.
Ideas flowed through her head. Recipes started to rush through and she could see herself preparing each of these different kinds of fish in so many ways. She looked back at the live fish in the tank.
She had a good idea of what to get now.
"Um, could I get this salmon and this tuna?" Hitori pointed at two of the fish on display, before looking at some more. "Ah, I'd like to get some of the live red shrimp as well, two pounds will do."
"Alright!" The shopkeeper smiled as she went ahead and packed up Hitori's order, before looking back at her. "Anything else this old-timer can get you, young lady?"
Hitori's eyes gleamed as she spent the next few minutes ordering everything she needed for Sick Hack's sushi night.
“Haaah… It’s good to be back.” Hiroi smiled as all of Sick Hack walked down the streets, the moon up in the air providing some light. “I’m so happy… We’ll be able to dine and enjoy ourselves with Hitori’s food once more…”
“I know!” Eliza grinned. “I can’t wait to eat some good food!”
“Don’t forget that you both have to pay me back…” Shima mentioned as they kept walking down, all the while massaging her shoulders.
“Eh?” Eliza cheekily looked back at Shima. “Don’t tell me you’re not looking forward to enjoying some of Hitori’s cooking as well?”
“That’s a different subject entirely.” Shima countered, before chuckling. “But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. I can’t wait to eat some of her Drunken Pork Noodles…”
Eliza giggled at that. Really, Shima could be such a tsundere sometimes…
They got to the stand without issue and they opened up the curtains.
“Heya, Hitori! We’re here and–”
Shima paused. Hiroi paused. Eliza blinked.
Sitting on one of the stools was a giant. Someone with long light blue hair that reached all the way down to her waist. A woman who clearly did a good bit of training considering the muscles she had on her body. She turned towards them and offered them a smile.
A smile filled with jagged teeth that were much more intimidating than Hiroi's.
"Heya! Nice to meet you, and–" The giant froze. She blinked. She squinted. Then, her dark purple eyes began to shine.
"I recognize you all, you girls are Sick Hack huh?!" With that, she rushed up to Shima causing her friend to back up several steps in shock. "Oh my god! I am such a huge fan!"
"I-It's nice to meet a fan here!" Hiroi managed to croak out, intimidated by the new person. She managed to get her bearings as she coughed and returned a smile. "Ah, forgot about my manners! Uh, who do you happen to be?"
"Eh? Ah! I forgot to introduce myself!" The giant slapped her forehead, before throwing out a grin and a peace sign. "Hi, my name's Aoumi Takao! I'm a second year high school student, nice to meet you!"
"Eh, nice to meet you!" Eliza smiled as she waved. "It's so nice to meet a fan! And–"
Wait. Hold on. Takao was in high school?!
Eliza couldn't process that information at all. She'd never seen high schoolers this tall in England either. This was a definite first for her.
"Hey, so where did you hear about this stall?" Shima asked as she went to take a seat. "Don't believe we advertised this place in our concert yet, right?"
"Nope!" Takao grinned as she took her seat again. "I ended up coming because Hitori mentioned sushi and I wanted to come eat her cooking with that!"
"Eh?! She's really doing sushi?" Eliza's eyes widened. No way, then that meant!
"Yep!" Takao nodded. "I sold her all the fish she needed to run the sushi night. It took some time, but I made sure all of her purchases were fresh and good for tonight's event!"
Sushi. They were going to get sushi. Not just that, but a clear source of where each of the fish came from.
She couldn't but crack a giant grin as she sat down.
"Oh? You sold her all the fish?" Shima asked as she leaned against her elbow. "So you know exactly what she's going to serve?"
"Not everything." Takao shook her head. "There were some things I couldn't get for her and I only know what fish will be offered. Beyond that is anyone's guess."
Eliza nodded at that. So, surprises? That was fine with her.
"Ah. Well, guess this means I made the right call bringing some high quality sake this time around!" With that, Hiroi pulled out a giant bottle, grinning as she set it on the cart table.
"..." Both Eliza and Shima stared at the bottle. Then, Shima sighed.
“Hiroi. How much did you borrow to buy this?”
"Eh?" Hiroi blinked, before laughing and waving her hand. "No, no! I didn't borrow any money to buy this today!"
"... So how much did you borrow yesterday?" Shima glowered.
Hiroi didn't reply. All she did was take out a few cups and slid them over to them.
"Here! I brought some sake cups too!"
"Hiroi!!!"
Just before Shima could jump up and get to the debt-ridden bassist, Hitori popped in.
"A-ah, he-hello!" Hitori managed to get out as she looked at everyone. "A-ah, um… here you go!"
With that, Hitori placed a plate in front of each of them, along with some soy sauce. All of Shima's rage evaporated in an instant as she gasped at what was presented.
Eliza couldn't help but gasp as well. After all…
It wasn't everyday you saw something this pretty.
All of the sashimi pieces were cut masterfully, each of them done in such a way that they were thin, yet thick enough to have some meat. However, what was important was the way they were all set up to paint a gorgeous picture. Salmon and tuna were intertwined together to form a sole koi fish as it circled the yellowtail flower that had a lone koi fish swimming in a pool. Each sashimi slice was intertwined to look like the colorful scales of a koi fish as it swam around a flower made of yellowtail slices.
This… this was the work of a master.
"I… this…" Takao managed to stammer. "Of all the things, I never expected to see a spread like this…"
Hiroi didn't say a single word. She kept staring at the arrangement, before chuckling as she poured herself a cup of sake.
"Heh… if I have to look at something so beautiful, I might as well savor a refreshing drink, right?"
Wordlessly, both she and Shima offered their cups. Sake poured freely, and without further ado, the other dug in.
But not her.
She took out her phone and started to take pictures. Of the food, of the people, and most importantly…
Of Hitori, whose focus was on the next dish. A face full of intent as her hands moved with precision and intensity that blew her away.
This was something that was absolutely perfect as reference for her doujins. This–
“Hey Eliza, if you’re not going to eat that–”
“H-hey! Hold on Hiroi!” Eliza whined as she picked up her chopsticks. “I’ll eat! I’ll eat!”
With a sigh and a feeling of pain in her heart, she went ahead and ruined the artwork. Some tuna and salmon sashimi were taken and dipped in soy sauce, before she took a bite.
Her eyes widened. No way. This was completely impossible, but…
The taste of this fish… was much better than before.
She was far too familiar with salmon and tuna, she had plenty of that here in Japan. However, she never expected the tuna to be fatty, fresh, and balanced all at the same time. The salmon itself was fantastic, a fresh taste that came with the delicious flavor of the fish. The texture was one that granted such a great mouth feel that she couldn’t help but wonder where this kind of fish could have come from.
She stared at the sashimi on her plate as she took another bite. How? How was it possible for these flavors to become so amazing? How could this be so different from every other sashimi she’s eaten in her life?!
“Aaaahhhh…” Hiroi sighed, snapping Eliza back to reality. “Good sashimi and good sake… what an amazing combo.”
“Yeah. You’re right.” Shima smiled as she took another sip of the sake. “Somehow, all of this feels… right.”
“... I wish I was old enough to drink alcohol with you all.” Takao pouted as she dug into her sashimi. “I won’t lie, I can tell she picked some good fish. This is all really good~”
Eliza stared at her fellow bandmates, before silently taking a sip of her sake. The alcohol filled her body and she could feel herself relaxing, sighing as she could feel all the tense energy of the band and doujin deadlines begin to escape her body.
“Here you go!” Hitori spoke up once more as she went ahead and placed four cups in front of the group. “Your drinks, I forgot to–”
She paused. She looked at the sake cups in front of Hiroi, Shima, and Eliza, before shrinking. “Uh… I guess you brought stuff already, huh…”
“No worries!” Hiroi laughed, before looking at the cup in front of her. “I’ll drink anything you bring, even if there isn’t any alcohol! What is it, Hitori?”
“We-well, it’s green tea.” Hitori gave a shaky smile. “I remember that every sushi place had green tea, so I uh…”
“Ah! That’s perfectly fine, thank you Hitori!” Takao grinned as she went ahead and took a sip, before nodding. “Yep yep! That’s some great tea right there!”
“I-I’ll be right back with the rest!” With that, Hitori ducked away as the four continued to finish their sashimi, Eliza being the slowest. She had to be cautious, she couldn’t just let this all go away so quickly and have regret later on. She had to savor this personal experience, enjoy every last bit of this as she could.
Just as she finished her dish, Hitori went ahead and provided the next course. And like the previous dish, this one was extravagant as well.
Four charred slices of fish sat on the plate, all of them supporting a single cherry tomato. On top of each were some drops of a dark sauce with microgreens and orange dots all across the flesh.
“Oh? What’s this?” Shima asked as she picked up a slice. Before Hitori could provide an explanation, she had already dug in.
Eliza watched as her friend's eyes went wide.
“Woah. That’s really good.”
“A-ah… Well, that’s just torched mackerel with an orange sauce and a soy sauce glaze…” Hitori stammered as Shima dug in once more. “U-uhm…”
“It’s alright, Hitori! The rest of us listened, after all!” Hiroi laughed as she took a slice, before her eyes widened as well. “Wow. Are you sure you’re not a sushi chef, Hitori?”
“N-no!” Hitori shook her head, before shrinking. “Um, I’ll get the next plate ready!”
She disappeared once more. Eliza couldn’t help but watch as Takao poked her dish for a little bit, before taking a bite. She did record the high-schooler’s reaction as her eyes went completely blank and her mouth popped open.
Then, she came back to reality and stared at the dish.
“...” Takao remained silent for some time, before looking behind the curtains. Her eyes squinted, but before she could say a single word–
“Eh? Is that sashimi?”
The unfamiliar voice made Eliza turn over to the newcomer; clearly a businessman who just finished a long shift. He took a look at their meal and gulped, before looking beyond the screen.
“Um, excuse me… are you offering sushi right now?”
“Eh?!” Hitori popped out once more, before shaking her head. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t have enough… Um, I do have other foods!! Like noodles and skewers and–”
“Oh.” The man looked like all life was sucked out of him, before shaking his head. “Um… when do you plan to do this again?”
At that, Hitori looked away. “Um… I’m sorry. Today’s a special day, so…”
“No way…” With that, the man looked almost lifeless, before sighing as he got a seat. “Then please… get me one of each skewers and the Beef Bone Broth.”
“Y-yes!” With that, Hitori disappeared once more, leaving the man to suffer.
He sighed as he took out a handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead, before looking at the four girls eating and sighing once more.
“Haah… I wish I could get an omakase too…”
All Eliza could do was smirk as she took a bite of the charred mackerel, the orange and the fish flavor mixing together in harmony. She gulped down her dish, before looking back at Hitori working hard once more.
She was definitely excited for whatever Hitori could cook up next.